A piece of Confederation for $785,000

Restored Halifax mansion of one of nation’s Fathers now on the market

Thestar.com
August 9, 2018
The Canadian Press

The meticulously restored Halifax mansion of a Father of Confederation has been put up for sale. For less than the price of a typical semi-detached house in Toronto.

The 160-year-old McCully House, once home to former journalist, politician and lawyer Jonathan McCully, offers a unique glimpse into upper-class life of the era of Confederation.
Jonathan McCully, a journalist, politician and lawyer, helped plot the creation of the new nation from the stone residence now being offered for $785,000.

“You can imagine the conversations and the writing that went on in that house, with him writing the prose of Confederation against the people who were writing against Confederation,” said Halifax historian Blair Beed.

The house has another claim to fame: It once housed the offices of Salter Street Films, the now-defunct TV and film production company behind the sexy sci-fi TV series Lexx.

The three-storey Brunswick St. house, built in the 1850s, is 3,667 square feet.

At the time it was built, that stretch of Brunswick St. was an upscale neighbourhood.

Real estate agent Carolyn Davis Stewart said the property offers a unique glimpse into upper-class life of the era with its traditional mantles and ornately carved mouldings.

“The mouldings have a lot of circular little motions which would have been very tedious to do, and that’s an art that’s certainly been lost, for the most part,” she said.

The four-bedroom home has an updated kitchen and four bathrooms, views of Halifax harbour and parking for up to six cars.

Through his writing and law career, McCully was a fierce advocate for Confederation and spent his post-Confederation life as a senator and judge, according to Beed.

“In Nova Scotia there was a big anti-Confederation movement that wanted us not to be part of a union,” said Beed.

“He would be writing in favour for Confederation and, with a legal background, be able to say how it would work.”

Beed said McCully conducted much of his work from the Brunswick St. house.

The house’s future was once uncertain, said Beed. Although it was designated a historic site in the 1970s, he said the provincial government “did a lousy job” at preserving the mansion.

Beed said he was shocked when he visited the house in the 1980s. “Water was dripping down the ceilings, but you could see it was a beautiful, beautiful house: The architecture inside, the mouldings and everything were still there,” he said.

It was almost too far gone when Paul Donovan and his brother Michael swooped in in the early 1990s and acquired it to use as office space for their Salter Street Films.

“That house was derelict, it had been derelict for a long time ... it was crumbling,” said Paul Donovan.

“But it was really pretty, it had very good bones.”

He bought the house from the city for $2, but he estimates they spent about $500,000 on renovations.

Donovan, who still works as a television and film writer, spent “a long time” restoring the house to its former glory.

He said he was not drawn to the house because of its connections to Confederation.

In fact, he doesn’t like McCully or Confederation all that much.

Nova Scotia’s entry into Canada brought an end to natural free trade and harmed its economy, Donovan said.

“I’ve always thought Confederation was a bad idea, though it’s a little late to undo it,” he said.

And he referred to McCully as a “bad spirit” within the house.